Re-chambering With Epoxy

[Shooter]

What do you think of filling a large chamber with high grade epoxy to change caliber? Say .308 to .308X1.5, or .308 caliers to .32 S&W long.
I have single shots in mind. Alining the chamber with th bore and a release agent would be a concern.

[2ndAmendmentNut]

Perhaps gluing in a metal chamber insert would be better, then just straight up epoxy. I really doubt if a chamber made of just pure epoxy would last very long. Although some of those two part epoxies continue to impress me.

[Mk42gunner]

I think you would be better off with a steel chamber adapter.


Robert

[cheese1566]

http://www.mcace.com/adapters.htm

They may be able to make a custom adapter for you.

[John Taylor]

I have not seen any epoxy that would hold up to the pressure/heat. I repair chamber often by boring out the old chamber and inserting a piece of barrel steel then cutting a new chamber. This only is a good idea if the chamber is going to be the same length or longer than the old chamber other wise you end up with a bullet jump to the rifling. If you want a smaller chamber then setting the barrel back is the best idea.

[Pavogrande]

I have wonderd the same thing -- I have a win 73 with a badly pitted chamber and was thinking of trying to fill the hole and "rechamber" using a metal filled epoxy such as Devcon.

Regarding pressure, the metal filled epoxy is pretty strong and will withstand about 300degress.
Many years ago I used the Devcon to repair worn (egg shaped) king pin holes in a ford truck solid axel. It worked fine and never gave up.

[shunka]

I have wonderd the same thing -- I have a win 73 with a badly pitted chamber and was thinking of trying to fill the hole and "rechamber" using a metal filled epoxy such as Devcon.

Regarding pressure, the metal filled epoxy is pretty strong and will withstand about 300degress.
Many years ago I used the Devcon to repair worn (egg shaped) king pin holes in a ford truck solid axel. It worked fine and never gave up.

please leave devcon, jb-weld, & etc where they are best used correctly.

for a chamber, this is a bubba-fix that will eventually fail, possibly catastrophically. no epoxy will withstand the temperatures and pressures in a chamber. under both, the material will eventually either melt & flow or shatter. the correct and durable repair is to ream the chamber larger and install a bushing with silver solder, braze, or the correct epoxy, and rechamber the bushing. this is similar to relining a barrel. Monsiuer Taylor knows wherof he speaks and is offering valuable advice for free.
yhs
shunka

[Artful]

Well I don't know about a chamber put I tried several different plastic's trying to make a smaller volume case usable subsonic loads in 308 chamber - this is filling the case with plastic and then drilling a new primer flash tube and cutting a power reservoir to hold a specific small amount of powder so that you have subsonic ammunition that won't change when tipped up down or loaded from a magazine.

And in my experience the expoxy or other plastics always failed some in as few as 1 firing.
You find many old .30-06' Garands that were "Navy" sleeved with a metal spacer to use 308 ammo which was put held in with a locktite type solution as I remember.

[mroliver77]

Artful,
I have done the same thing as you are trying by using lead alloy to fill the case. I get it very clean and flux the alloy immediately preceding the pour. Immediately quench the case after pour! I then drill out a powder chamber and a flash hole. It has worked well for me this way. 1 gr of Bulls Eye or a powder in that range works very well in the .223 and nets you a faster projectile and more uniform burn than the same charge in a unmodified case. So far I have done .223 and 30-06. I keep loads on the "lighter" side as warm loads do seem to carry some lead away. I have seen no lead fouling and have not followed up by weighing cases to see if I am losing lead or it is an illusion. Neck sized cases function well and extract fine. No evidence of the cases being annealed. Your mileage may vary.
Jay

[KCSO]

John has it right bore out the chamber and thread in an insert. I have saved many old guns this way, including a Trapdoor with a nasty bulge.